Death's Little Songbird
by Kiteria Faye
Summary: Katrina's life was what lead her to piracy, so what then does one do when the pirate crew they joined and thought of as their family leaves them behind with a huge debt? Do what is necessary to pay it back. A lost polar bear and a chance encounter change Katrina's life around. Will she accept this new family or will her past come back to haunt her?
1. Chapter 1

_Kiteria: Hey guys, it's me. Wanted to let you all know that I am rewriting Death's Little Songbird from the beginning. There will be some I leave the same, some additions, I might take things away. Who knows what this rewrite might do. I hope that when I post the first chapter that it will get as much love and attention as it did the first time I wrote it. I don't know when I'll post it, or when I'll be able to update it with everything that is going on right now. But when I do, I hope you all will give it a read._

* * *

Blue-green eyes hidden behind light brown hair scanned the crowd of people milling about the archipelago they were on, trying to find the best person to choose as their target. The brunette smirked when she found a rather plump man in expensive robes walking about, his change purse jingling as he walked. Two guards walked on either side of him, swords strapped to their waists and eyes scanning each face they passed for potential threats. If she had to guess, she would say he was some landlord or shop owner, not that it made any difference to her.

Standing up from her crouched position on top of one of the many buildings in Grove 23, she padded along the tiles on the roof before jumping down and landing lightly within the midst of people with only a soft thud as her bare feet touched the ground. She moved quickly, weaving in and out of the crowd while steadily moving in on her target. As someone called the plump man's attention, she pulled a dagger out of her belt, swiftly moved beside the man, cut the rope tying the change purse to his side, and disappeared within the shadows of an alleyway all before he even identified the person that had called his name. His guards and him none the wiser and she would be long gone before they noticed.

The pickpocket clamped the small pouch in her mouth before turning to the alleway to her left. Making quick mental calculations of the crates and boxes stacked on the ground, she scaled the walls of the alleyway, then hoisted herself onto the roof. Lowering herself down into a seated position, easily keeping her balance before opening her mouth and dropping the bag of money in the palm of her outstretched hand. Pouring it out, she counted it. 300,000 beli. A better haul than yesterday, but still nowhere near the amount she needed to pay off the debt she was left to deal with from her old pirate crew. At the thought of the people who had left her behind, the brunette's eyes narrowed and her hand clenched tightly around the bag of money she held.

 _'Traitorous bastards, the lot of them.'_

Taking a deep breath to calm herself and an additional second to curse her ex-crew for the 300,000,000 beli bill she had been left to pay off she forced herself to focus on the present. There was nothing she could do about what had been done. The only upside was once she paid off the debt forced onto her, she would be free. The wind blowing her hair softly about her face, the brunette frowned as she saw the sun was slowly easing its way over the horizon. That meant she would only have a few more hours of daylight left before having to be back at the brothel. Jericho's orders. The mere thought of it made the girl's skin crawl, how her captain had just left her without a second thought like that after everything they'd been through together. Not only did it piss the brunette off to near maddening extremes, but it also made her feel betrayed and unwanted.

Smoothly getting to her feet and being sure the pouch of money was safely tucked away so as not to be lost the brunette was about to start the trek back to Grove 19 when she saw something out of the corner of her eye that made her freeze. She blinked a few times, trying to make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, and stared at the white polar bear in an orange jumpsuit standing in front of a variety of signs, looking completely lost. Now, the brown-haired girl had seen a lot of things in her time as a pirate, but never had she seen a polar bear in a jumpsuit. Curiosity getting the best of her and ignoring her mind screaming that she really didn't have time for this, she jumped down from the roof and landed a few feet away from the bear. She kept her distance and silently followed the creature as it waddled around. She saw it stop and try what she could only guess was talking to a few people, but they all ran upon seeing him start to speak. The brunette was honestly starting to feel rather bad for the bear after his sixth attempt of getting help and everyone screaming before running away from him. Each time the bear would bow its head and she swore she heard it say sorry before it moved on to try again. She couldn't bear to see him try again already knowing the outcome, so she approached slowly, hands raised.

"You lost, hun?"

She asked softly, not wanting to spook it and possibly deal with getting her face torn off. She saw it turn to stare at her in shock before looking down, an embarrassed look on its face.

"It's okay if you are, it happens to the best of us."

She chuckled reassuringly as she walked closer, dropping her hands when she realized she was in no danger from the creature.

"What's your name, hun? You can speak, right?"

The bear nodded and lifted its head to look at her.

"Bepo."

It replied in a surprisingly high pitched voice.

"Well, Bepo, my name's Katrina. If you tell me what it is you're tryin' to find, I can probably help you out."

Katrina offered with a warm smile, and noticed Bepo's body relax. She wasn't sure what he was trying to find or who, but the relief that seemed to be coming off of him in waves spoke volumes.

"I'm trying to find my captain. I was following him but..."

Bepo trailed off, embarrassed again and Katrina could only guess what had happened.

"Got distracted by everything goin' on?"

Katrina finished, and saw him nod. Those who had never been to the archipelago before were always distracted by the odd sights and shops. It was one of the reasons kidnapping and human trafficking was such an easy and profitable job.

"That's alright, hun, what's your captain look like?"

Bepo looked at her for a few seconds before pulling something out of his jumpsuit and holding it out in front of her.

Katrina blinked at the wanted poster held up for her to see. It proclaimed in large letters 'Trafalgar Law' and she guessed that he was the bear's captain. Taking in the man's furry hat, yellow and black hoodie, and the nodachi balanced on his shoulder, she nodded to Bepo to show him she had memorized the image plastered on the wanted poster.

"Wait here."

She told him before running the nearest building, and easily scaled it until she was standing on the roof. She didn't have to scan the crowd of people below her for long before she spotted the person she was looking for. To be honest, the canary-yellow-and-black hoodie was rather hard to miss. Carefully leaning over the side of the building to look at Bepo she offered him a reassuring smile.

"Found him!"

The bear looked up hopefully, and Katrina made a note of where the pirate captain was walking before dropping from the roof and landing lightly beside Bepo.

"Come on, we wouldn't want you to lose him again."

She said cheerfully, walking off with the bear right on her heels.

Katrina scanned the crowd of people once they got to the last place she had seen Bepo's captain, frowning slightly when she didn't spot the man until she saw him sitting on a crate by a fountain with his fingers laced together as he leaned forward on his knees. She could see numerous people in beige colored boiler suits standing around him and guessed that was the rest of his crew. She started slowing down the closer they got and hoped Bepo hadn't realized how uncomfortable she had become.

"There he is, Bepo."

Her companion immediately brightened up at the news and started walking towards him, but when Katrina didn't follow, he stopped and looked back at her with his head tilted questioningly.

"Wouldn't want to embarrass you by letting your crew know you got lost."

She answered his unspoken question, a small smile on her lips.

"I'll see you around, hun."

With that, she turned around and leapt onto a crate of fish, then grabbed onto the rim of a roof and hoisted herself up before continuing on, back to the brothel that was her prison for the foreseeable future.


	2. Chapter 2

_Kiteria: Hey again guys. Here it is, the revised second chapter. I adjusted a few things and chose to go with my friend Rain's idea of making things a little harder for the boys. You'll see what I mean when you get there. Hope you all enjoy. Oh! Before I forget, meant to ask. How would you guys like it if I did a video response to you guys' reviews and posted a link at the end of the next chapter (if fanfiction will let me that is)? Just an idea, let me know what ya'll think of the new chapter and the review response idea. Til next time, enjoy!_

* * *

"You're late, you worthless piece of shit!"

A low, angered alto yelled before backhanding Katrina across the face, sending her flying back a few feet until she harshly collided into the wall. She gasped as pain spread through her back, but didn't say anything back to the blonde haired man before her. She'd learned long ago to keep her smart-aleck remarks to herself; it was less painful that way. Usually anyway.

"Just what were you doing out so late, huh?"

He demanded, stalking towards her and grabbing a handful of her hair, yanking her head back as he pulled her forward, eliciting a pained gasp from her.

"Were you screwing your targets to get their money? Maybe I should put you to work in the brothel instead of letting you run around on the streets!"

Katrina tried to pull away from Jericho's grip only to have him pull her back to him.

"Or maybe I could teach you how to please people? I'm sure you'd like that, wouldn't you you little shit?"

He pushed her up against the wall, pressing himself against her. She could feel him against her thigh, his alcohol laden breath fanning out across her face making her almost gag.

"I got caught up getting money to pay back my debt Jericho, nothing more, nothing less."

She grit out, biting back the roll of insults and threats she wanted to spew at him.

"Don't let it happen again."

Jericho warned, pushing her hard against the wall before walking off.

"Bastard."

Katrina muttered to herself, nursing her cheek; there would be a bruise there come morning.

She had managed to get back to the brothel just as the sun set and would have been on time depositing the money she'd stolen if one of the workers from downstairs hadn't stopped to badmouth her and how Jericho apparently treated her better.

"I hate this place."

The brunette sighed as she made her way up the rest of the stairs to the bedroom she had been given to stay in. It was on the top floor at the very end of the hall. She could hear the women of the brothel giggling and whispering seductively to their clients as she opened her door. Even with the building being so big, the walls were paper-thin and the entire place echoed.

Collapsing onto her bed, Katrina ignored how the springs poked through the worn mattress and scratched at her sore back. She shifted to a more comfortable position, hoping to alleviate some of the pain, before glaring hatefully up at the ceiling as she heard the sounds of moans and screams of pleasure coming through the walls of the brothel that was her cage. Three years. Three years had passed since her and her old crew had stopped here for a drink to relax from their latest voyage at sea. They had all drank more than their fill and slowly passed out downstairs, some upstairs with the whores. When Katrina had come to, she was lying on the floor with Jericho standing over her, angrily demanding an explanation as to why her crew had split and left no money to pay their bill, just her. It didn't take her long to realize her captain had decided to leave her behind as payment, despite the two years she had spent onboard the ship of the Swift Pirates. Three years had passed and that 300-million berri debt she was forced to pay was finally cut in half, leaving her to have to scrounge up 150-million more until she had her freedom. She wasn't too sure what she'd do once she had it, but she knew for certain that if she ever saw her old crew again, she was going to give them a piece of her mind.

* * *

Law followed Bepo as his bi-pedaled friend walked ahead of them, sniffing the air to try to find someone. He had managed to meet back up with them after getting separated and told Law a girl named Katrina had helped him so he wanted to find her to say thanks. Bepo then asked Law if he could try and find her, since Law had wanted to leave for the Auction House straight away. Law had no problems against his furry friend's wishes as he too wanted to express his gratitude to this girl for helping Bepo return to him. A small detour from his plans wouldn't make that much of a difference. They would still go to see what the auction was like, besides, Law had a pretty good feeling that he would get a lead on him if he attended.

"I think he picked up on her scent."

Penguin said, pulling Law's attention to his polar bear friend in time to see him heading towards a building that all the men in Law's crew immediately wanted to go to.

 _'A brothel?'_

Law wondered with a raised eyebrow, but followed after Bepo nonetheless.

Once inside the three-story building, Law and his men were instantly greeted by a tall blonde man dressed in bright, feathery clothes that clung too tightly to his body. His hair was spiked and his face was clean-shaven. Law could admit, the man before them was a rather attractive male. He looked like he kept himself fit and obviously had no problem showing it off with the open collared shirt that exposed his chest. The red feathered boa hanging around his neck drew attention to his muscular shoulders. The man had an air of confidence about him, but something dark was hidden in the blonde man's green eyes.

"Welcome, gentlemen! Any preferences to your women?"

The blonde asked with a wide, businesslike smile on his face.

"We're not here for your provided...entertainment."

Law told him, ignoring the groans of disappointment from his crew and turning to look at Bepo, who was sniffing at the air and scanning the room.

"Oh? Then why are you here?"

The blonde asked, his voice not as welcoming as before now that he knew they weren't paying customers.

"My friend here is looking for someone who helped him earlier today. We're simply here to give her our thanks."

He explained in a bored tone when he saw Bepo point a paw upstairs, waiting until the captain nodded before walking towards the steps.

"Hey! Only paying customers are allowed upstairs!"

The blonde man shouted in protest and was promptly ignored by Law and the others as they walked past him. They didn't get very far however before four men in black suits stepped in their way and prevented them from going any further.

"Only paying customers are allowed upstairs."

They all spoke in unison and Bepo turned to look at Law, concern on his face.

"Now if you men would like to pay for some company today I'd be more than happy to allow you upstairs."

The man from before said, stepping forward again, standing in front of the men in suits.

Law heard mumbling amongst his crew at the man's mention of the women and narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

"Move aside, we aren't here for your entertainment and I won't tell you again."

Law said before moving to head up the stairs as before, only to be blocked by one of the men in suits.

"No one is allowed upstairs unless Master Jericho says so or is a paying customer."

Getting irritated with the constant interruptions Law motioned forward with his hand and in the next instant his men rushed forward and subdued the men standing in their way. Jericho let out a far from manly scream of surprise as his men were taken down and he was left standing alone before an entire pirate crew.

"G-Go right up."

Jericho stuttered nervously before Bepo continued up the stairs following the scent of the girl who helped him, the rest of the crew following behind as before.

When Bepo stopped in front of a room at the end of the hall on the top floor and looked back at Law, the dark doctor raised an eyebrow in question.

"This where her scent ends, Bepo?"

The bear nodded. Law looked from his furry friend to the door before knocking and waiting with the rest of his crew as he heard mumbling from inside the room. The door was eased open to reveal a rather grumpy looking girl with light brown hair, glaring at them with blue-green eyes that reminded him of the ocean.

"Uh...hello?"

The girl asked warily as she looked at each of them in turn before her eyes returned to Law. He smiled internally when he saw she seemed to tell he was in charge at just a glance. He took in the defensive way she held the door open just enough so she could see out, but not enough so someone could come in unless they forced their way inside.

"Hello, Miss Katrina."

Law greeted amiably, and saw hostile eyes snap up to meet his gray ones.

"Mind if we come in?"


	3. Chapter 3

_Kiteria: Damn, even with adding some things and trying I couldn't make the chapter much longer than it was originally. Well, regardless, I hope y'all enjoy!_

* * *

Katrina stared at the group of men standing in the hallway leading down to the brothel, immediately recognizing Bepo as the furry polar bear gave her a small wave.

"Eh, why not?"

She mused in response to Law's question before stepping back to allow him, Bepo, and three others to enter her small bedroom. There really wasn't much room to begin with, but with five other people it was a bit of a tight fit. Katrina sat on the edge of her bed, trying to give the men and Bepo as much room as she could and keep a safe distance between them. Bepo seemed fine, but she wasn't ignoring the fact his captain was a wanted criminal with quite the reputation.

"It's good to see you found your captain, hun."

Katrina said to Bepo with a smile as she attempted to break the stagnant air that had settled in the room. She looked at the small group of men huddled in her shack of a room and chuckled quietly to herself at the fact they seemed rather uncomfortable where they were. That was understandable, considering the moans and screams of ecstasy coming from the rooms down the hall, and from the rooms on the other side of her paper-thin walls. She noticed all but Bepo and Law were wearing beige colored suits that went from their necks all the way down to their brown boots, and had a Jolly Roger of sorts on the chest. One was wearing a black cap with a yellow trim, the word 'Penguin' spelled out across, and a red pompom sitting on top. Another had reddish-brown hair to his shoulders with a blue hat that had a red trim. The last man she couldn't see very much of his face, but he seemed to have blonde hair sticking out from under his hat.

"So what can I do for you boys?"

She asked after finishing her observations, turning her attention back to Law and meeting his eyes. Law was the only one, aside from Bepo of course, that she doubted she could handle if these men chose to turn on her. Not that they had a reason to attack her, but they were pirates and she knew all too well what men stuck on a ship at sea for months at a time thought when they were finally around a woman again.

"Bepo wanted to thank you for helping him find us again, and I did too."

Came Law's simple reply. She noticed Bepo shuffle forward to stand in front of her, looking at his paws in embarrassment.

"Thank you."

Katrina's inner child squealed at how adorable he looked when he bowed in gratitude.

"No problem, hun."

She chuckled, before reaching out and petting the top of the polar bear's head.

"You were too cute to leave alone."

Her smile grew wider when she saw Bepo blush and look down. Well, she was pretty sure he blushed, it was hard to tell with his fur but the feeling she got from him had her believing he did. This was the first time she'd ever seen a polar bear blush, but then again, this was the first time she'd seen a polar bear like Bepo so...

"Well, thank you for that, Miss Katrina."

Law said, pulling Katrina's attention from the embarrassed polar bear in front of her to the dark doctor leaning against the wall beside her door, a small smile on his face. She tried, but she couldn't get a read on the man. The others were pretty easy for her to read. They were uncomfortable, jealous, on edge, and curious. She could just about mentally imagine the reasoning behind all of that, but with Law she got nothing but what appeared to be slight amusement and gratitude. She wasn't fooled though, she knew there was more to this ebony-haired man before her than what he was allowing her to see on the surface. One wasn't a Supernova for nothing.

"Don't mention it, babe."

She said with a small smile of her own, not missing a beat. Part of her wondered if they planned on lining Jericho's pockets and taking up a few of the rooms tonight, though she supposed it really wasn't any of her business what these pirates did. She wouldn't mind if they did stay a bit longer, it was strange, but their presence helped set her mind at ease. At least with them here she knew Jericho and the girls wouldn't have the guts to harass her until they left.

Glancing back towards Bepo, Katrina found herself genuinely smiling ever so slightly to herself. She was glad she'd chosen to help him out after all. She could have been like the others he had tried asking for help and simply run away, but her heart wouldn't let her do that. The furry pirate reminded her a little of a child in his actions. Easy to embarrass, quick to apologize, choosing to stick to one person more so than anyone else. Reminded her of how her sister had been with her growing up and how she used to be with her brothers before their game started.

The sound of Jericho calling her name from downstairs sent ice through her veins and in an instant, Katrina's smile was gone. She was on her feet and halfway out the door of her room, looking down the hall towards the stairs when she stopped.

"Hold on, Jericho!"

She called down to him, hoping her earlier assumption was right and that he wouldn't come up the stairs. If he saw she had four guys-well five, counting Bepo-in her room, he'd undoubtedly beat her for 'entertaining' guests without making them pay.

"Get your ass down here, you little bitch!" Jericho yelled back angrily, and Katrina flinched at his tone before looking back into her room at the men she could feel were all staring at her. She was hoping Law and his crew hadn't heard her boss' response, but she wasn't able to tell from the looks on their faces if they had or not.

"I hate to cut our conversation short, huns, but Jericho'll beat me senseless if I don't get down there."

Katrina said with a joking smile to hide the truth behind her words as she turned away from the men in her room to face her fate.

"I trust you can find your way back."

She called over her shoulder before slipping out the door and running downstairs as quickly as she could to see what Jericho wanted from her, missing the look that crossed Law's face as she left.


	4. Chapter 4

_Kiteria: There we have it folks, chapter four! Like I said, I've changed a bit, but not much. Even I don't know how much of this I'm gonna change, I just know I want to try to make this story the best I can. Last time I feel I rushed it, so this time I'm gonna try to take my time. Hope you guys enjoy! Please leave me a review!_

* * *

A deep frown marred the dark-skinned doctor's face as soon as Katrina left the room. Law hadn't missed what Jericho had called her and had noticed the slight tremor in her voice when she'd jokingly said the blonde man from before would beat her if she didn't get downstairs. However, none of that was the cause of his frown. No, what made him frown was the look that had been in the brunette's blue-green eyes as she walked past him to get out of the room. She'd looked like a slave going to answer the call of their master after the fight had been beaten out of them.

"We heading back to the ship now, captain?"

Penguin asked, adjusting the hat on his head, making some of his hair stick up at an odd angle out the side.

"No. You, Sachi, and George go back. Bepo, come with me."

Law ordered low in response, before pushing off the wall and walking down the hall to head back down the stairs of the brothel with Bepo right beside him.

He'd had a bad feeling when he heard Jericho call Katrina's name, and it only got worse when he scanned the room full of people in front of him only to come up empty in his search for the blonde owner of the brothel or the brown-haired girl from earlier. He was about to ask Bepo to find the girl's scent when he heard a loud crash come from inside the room across from him. No one else in the room seemed to notice, or if they did they acted as if they didn't. Women of the brothel were avoiding eye contact with him and he knew in that instant that the women working at this brothel didn't care if anything was going on in that room. They weren't getting involved one way or another. In other words, they were a waste of his time.

Law calmly made his way over to the door that lead into the room the sound had come from, only to have his way barred by two big men in suits, like the ones from earlier. They certainly looked the part of hired muscle, each man had biceps about twice the size of Law's head and were about a foot taller than his own six feet.

"Move back."

"Don't bother Master Jericho."

The two men spoke at the same time, their voices overlapping one another but their message getting through clear enough. They weren't going to let him through.

A dark look crossed the Heart Pirates Captain's face at the order, before pulling a scalpel from his pocket and, in an instant, slitting both men's throats before either of them could comprehend what had happened.

"Bepo."

Law said as he ignored the screams of the people inside the brothel panicking at the sight of the two men bleeding out on the floor. What did these morons think was going to happen? He was a pirate and pirates took whatever they wanted. Telling them they can't go somewhere is only going to make them want to do that exact thing even more. Though in Law's case the men died for daring to order him around. He was getting tired of the amount of people doing that today.

"Guard the door."

His furry subordinate nodded before taking up his position to the right of the door, ready to prevent anyone from attempting to enter. Though Law doubted anyone would after what they just witnessed, but he wasn't in the mood for anymore irritation today. Without even a second glance at the chaos he had caused outside with the two bodies growing colder on the floor, Law stepped into the room, letting the door close behind him.

* * *

Katrina gasped in pain as Jericho threw her against a stack of crates, making one of them fall and smash open on the floor.

"You'll have to pay for that, bitch."

Jericho said before grabbing a handful of her hair. His alcohol-layered breath blew out across Katrina's face and made her want to gag.

"Just what did you do for those pirates that made them want to thank you?"

"Fuck you, Jericho. I'm gettin' you your money, so what's it matter if I help a lost pirate find his crew?"

Katrina spat, pushing Jericho back and moving to get out of the storage room that the blonde man had dragged her into. She cried out in shock when a hand weaved itself back into her hair and yanked her back.

"Because you're mine, sweetheart."

Jericho whispered in her ear as he tilted her head back towards him and wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her in place.

"Your crew left you behind to pay for their debt, meaning you belong to me and only me and I can do anything I want with you."

He trailed his hand down her bare stomach and started to go beneath her shorts.

"Back off, Jericho!"

Katrina yelled as she snapped her head back into the blonde's nose and broke out of his hold. She ran for the door, but was yanked back and thrown to the floor.

"You're gonna to pay for that, bitch."

Jericho hissed with a hand holding his broken nose, blood flowing over his fingers and down his face. He gripped her hips as he climbed on top of her. This wasn't the first time the two of them had had altercations like this, however, when Jericho's hands moved to push her shirt up Katrina's eyes widened as she realized what her boss was going to do and started fighting even harder to get away from him.

"Stay still, you little bitch!"

Jericho snapped as he backhanded her in the same spot as before and tore her top off her.

Katrina gasped as cold air hit her newly exposed skin and brought her knee up into Jericho's crotch, making him double over on top of her.

"Get off me, goddammit!"

Katrina shouted as she attempted to push him off her. Jericho sat up and glared down at her, the look in his eyes making the brunette freeze.

"I was going to take it easy on you, but not anymore."

He said in a growl and Katrina tried everything to get the blonde off of her. All her attempts of fighting him off her ceased when Jericho slammed her head against the concrete floor, making her see stars.

"Stay still!"

Katrina could feel Jericho undo her shorts and start to jerk them down her hips. She tried to push him off of her, but her head was pounding and she couldn't see straight. He pushed her legs apart and she felt him shift above her before his weight suddenly disappeared and something warm and wet splattered across her upper body. Her vision was hazy and she struggled to keep her eyes open as the pounding in her head just made her want to shut her eyes. Looking around as best she could to try to see what was going on, Katrina saw a white spotted hat and dark crimson liquid flying through the air. The sight of the crimson substance reminded her of the Jolly Roger of her old pirate crew and memories of her time with them flashed through her mind before she lost her fight to keep her eyes open and everything went black.

* * *

Law had walked through the door at the exact moment that Jericho slammed Katrina's head against the floor. The sickeningly loud crack that reverberated throughout the room upon impact made him frown. He'd be surprised if she was conscious after that.

As Jericho pushed the brunette's legs apart Law pulled his nodachi from his shoulders and unsheathed it, silently going unnoticed by the man attempting to rape the girl beneath him. The moment Jericho positioned himself to forever scar the girl beneath him, Law's nodachi sliced through his throat, making his blood spew across the floor and Katrina. Walking up to the slumped over form of the now dead man, Law took a scalpel from the pocket of his jeans before dragging the sharpened blade across the blonde's face from his eyes to his chin. The corners of his mouth were sliced up to his ears, and Law thought about cutting his throat open to see inside, but by that time the body had already started to get cold.

With a slight push, Law watched as the body fell to the floor with a soft thump. The surgeon of death briefly cursed how quickly the body grew cold after death before losing interest. He wasn't very fond of dissecting the dead, they weren't nearly as entertaining to watch. He then remembered the possibly concussed brunette lying half naked and splattered with blood a couple of feet away from him.

"Bepo!"

Law called the bipedal bear as he slid his scalpel back into the front pocket of his jeans after wiping it clean on Jericho's clothes. His nodachi was also clean and safely back in its sheath and balanced across his shoulders.

"Captain?"

Bepo asked as he ambled into the room. His eyes scanned the room from the pants-less and now dead Jericho to the still form of Katrina and a growl tore its way from his throat.

"It's okay, Bepo; the man's dead."

Law said to calm his friend down as he walked over to Katrina. Setting his nodachi down as he crouched beside the unconscious girl, Law fixed her clothes before pulling her into his arms. Her head lolled to the side and Law got a look at the wound on the back of her head from when Jericho slammed it into the ground. Frowning at the look of it, Law stood with an arm under her knees and the other around her back before heading for the door.

"Come on, Bepo, we need to get back to the sub."

He called back to his friend from over his shoulder as he walked back out of the room, stepping over the two dead guards with Bepo following behind, carrying his captain's precious sword, as they headed for the street outside.

Law placed Katrina down on the steel cot inside the infirmary of his sub then rummaged around in a drawer until he found a stethoscope. Giving the unconscious girl on the cot an examination to see if anything was broken was his top priority. He couldn't very well let someone who helped his first mate go without healing if he could help it.

Not finding any broken bones or fractures in her arms, legs, or torso, Law moved his hands upward to check her head. Pressing several different spots, though being careful to avoid the spot he'd seen before, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until he pressed the back of her head directly on the wound that he got a response out of the girl. Law's probing fingers froze as blue-green eyes fluttered open and stared up at him.

Before he could say anything, the girl screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

Katrina had woken up to the feel of fingers gently probing her skull, but it wasn't until the fingers pressed against the back of her head that she opened her eyes to see who was probing her skull. She felt the fingers freeze as her eyes focused on cold gray ones and she screamed thinking they belonged to Jericho and that he was going to repeat what he'd done before. Images flashed behind her eyes and she felt the ghostly feeling of Jericho's hands on her and she tried to get away from the man in front of her, flailing slightly as if to get the memory of the hands off her, her actions catching the tanned man sitting in front of her by surprise so he didn't react in time to avoid her hand colliding with his face.

"Captain!"

Katrina heard unfamiliar voices shout over the sound of her screaming and saw a guy with a hat on his head that said 'Penguin', a guy with a blue hat and red trim on, and a girl covered in some sort of black substance with a butcher knife in her hand all standing in the doorway looking at the man beside her, but Katrina only focused on the girl with the knife and screamed louder. Her attempts of getting away from the probing fingers and whoever they belonged to intensified as well, resulting in the table of medical tools that had been beside her getting knocked over and the brunette scrambling up onto the examination table she'd woken up on, she didn't stop until her back hit the wall of the room and even then she didn't stop screaming. Was it going to happen again? Was Jericho waiting to come for round two? Wasn't it bad enough he had violated her once already? The thought made Katrina shake in fear as she tried to curl in on herself to become as small as possible.

"Gah! Get out! All of you!"

Katrina heard a voice shout over her and she didn't stop screaming until they were all gone and the door was shut behind them.

Silence followed and Katrina pulled her knees up to her chest and hugged them tightly as she thought back to what had happened in the storage room. She had blacked out, she remembered that much. Had Jericho actually violated her? Someone had bust in at some point, had they stopped him? Who was it? Why had they chosen to save her? What did they want from her for doing so?

"Do not do that again."

A male voice said to her left, making Katrina flinch and look over to see Trafalgar Law drop his hands to his sides from where he'd been holding them over his ears in an attempt to deafen the sound of her screams.

 _Law? What's he doing here?_

Katrina wondered as she looked around and paled when she realized she was in an infirmary of sorts. Metal and glass cabinets were screwed into the walls and secured to the floor. The table she was currently sitting on was metal beneath the sheet she now realized she was sitting on. The smell of antiseptic was everywhere and she could tell by the gentle swaying motion she felt that she was on a ship of some kind.

"Where-"

Katrina started, but Law cut her off as he walked back over to her and started probing her head without a word. She flinched upon his approach, but didn't react as violently as before.

"Well, it doesn't seem like you have a concussion."

He stated after a few minutes of silence and Katrina simply stayed put and watched Law with slightly wide eyes. With him this close she could take in his features. He was slim and rather tall, almost six foot three if Katrina had to guess, making him a full three inches taller than her. She noticed he had faint shadows right under his eyes which were a cold, stormy gray and had a small goatee and his dark black hair hidden under an already familiar fuzzy white hat with spots along the bottom near the rim. He had on a black and yellow colored hoodie with a black smiley face on the front. The sleeves were pushed up to his elbows, letting Katrina see the tattoos on his arms that stood out against his rather dark skin. His jeans were spotted much like his hat and she could see the sword she'd seen him with before leaning against the wall across from where she currently sat.

"Does it hurt anywhere other than your head?"

He asked, pulling Katrina from her thoughts as her eyes snapped up to his. She shook her head and felt herself start to tremble and tightened her grip around her knees to try and stop, but it was doing no good. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't calm down as her mind recalled what had happened to her. What she had been too powerless to stop. It was no different than before. Nothing had changed.

* * *

Law saw that Katrina's nerves finally seemed to catch up with her. He would have given her a sedative, but he wasn't comfortable with the idea of her sleeping so soon after having just woke up.

Without a word, Law walked out of the infirmary and into the galley where his crew were all sitting and arguing about something. He spotted the one he was looking for and called their name.

"Bepo, come here."

The Heart Pirate captain commanded and his furry subordinate got up without a question or comment and came to stand in front of him. Law turned around and headed back towards the infirmary, Bepo following without a word.

Once back at the infirmary, Law held open the door and let his polar bear friend walk in first before leaning against the door's frame and waving a tanned hand in Katrina's direction, giving a silent order for Bepo to comfort the girl in a way only a fluffy animal can.

Law watched as Bepo tentatively walked over to Katrina and managed to pull her off the steel cot and into his lap as he leaned against the wall. He wrapped his paws around her and Law heard a soft rumbling come from his furry friend's chest and saw Katrina's shaking calm down some. The dark doctor slipped out of the room, knowing Bepo would get him if it was necessary. She had no other injuries aside from a few bruises and the cut on the back of her head. It hadn't required stitches and seemed to be doing fine with just the qauze pad he had secured over it. He wanted to talk to the brunette, but she was in no state of mind for that. He would have to wait, as much as he disliked the idea. Sighing quietly to himself, Law made his way to the galley for the second time that day to try and find something to eat.

* * *

Bepo looked down at the girl in his lap and noticed the way she clung to him, even in her sleep. He wasn't really sure why his captain had called him into the infirmary to calm her down, but whatever the reason he was glad to see Katrina had calmed down. She had, after all, been nice enough to help him. Had he calmed down, he would have been able to find his captain's scent and simply found him that way. However, Bepo had become too frantic upon realizing he had lost his captain and crew to think of that option and been trying to spot them in the crowd of the Archipelago. Thankfully, Katrina had happened across him or who knows how long he would have gone before calming down enough to use his head.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours, all the while Bepo noticed that Katrina's grip on his fur never loosened. The door to the infirmary opened and Bepo found himself growling at whoever it was until he recognized the scent as his captain's.

"How is she?"

The dark doctor asked as he came and crouched in front of Bepo.

"She fell asleep shortly after having calmed down."

Bepo said, his eyes moving from his captain to Katrina's sleeping form.

"She won't let go of my fur."

He said the second sentence mostly as an afterthought that was more to himself than his captain, but the surgeon still heard and chuckled slightly.

"Seems I was right in thinking she'd relax with you around."

Law said and Bepo looked at his captain, wondering what he'd do with Katrina now. He spoke again as he stood back up, while Bepo looked back down at Katrina before carefully getting to his feet with the sleeping girl still clinging to him.

"We should move her out of the infirmary."

Bepo followed his captain out of the room and further into the submarine until they reached his room. Bepo didn't question when Law opened the door and motioned Bepo to lay Katrina on the bed. The polar bear backed up after finally managing to free his fur from Katrina's fingers, then followed after his captain as he left and closed the door after them. Even as they walked away, Bepo's mind couldn't help but stay with the girl. He had so many questions. Why had she helped him? What was going on in the room before his captain stepped in? How badly had Jericho hurt her? What was his captain going to do with the girl now?

* * *

 _"Come on Kat, let's play Pirates and Marines."_

 _A boy with dark brown hair cut around his neck and dark blue eyes called to a young light brown haired girl currently reading a book. The girl looked up from her book and her blue-green eyes met the dark blue of her older brother._

 _"Mommy said not to play that game."_

 _The little girl said and was going to go back to her book of adventures at sea when it was suddenly pulled out of her hands by an auburn haired boy with green eyes._

 _"Nicholas! Give it back!"_

 _Katrina cried as she got to her feet and tried to get her book back from her eldest brother._

 _"Captain Clark! What is this pirate doing out of her cell!?"_

 _Nicholas called to the brown haired boy who smiled at his older brother._

 _"My apologies Admiral Nicholas, I'll take her back immediately."_

 _Clark said and grabbed Katrina's arms and roughly pulled them behind her back, earning a pained gasp from the brown haired girl._

 _"No."_

 _Nicholas said making both Clark and Katrina stop and look at him._

 _"This pirate has been a pain, always escaping from her cell and stealing from us."_

 _Nicholas said, holding up Katrina's book like it was some great treasure._

 _"Tie her up and gag her, it's time this pirate scum learned her place."_

 _Nicholas said with a smirk and Clark smiled in response as he dragged a struggling Katrina to the treehouse and tied her arms and feet to keep her in place as Nicholas climbed into the treehouse with a blood-caked whip in hand._

 _"Nick! Clark! Please no! I don't wanna play this game anymore! Please!"_

 _Katrina begged, her eyes wide in fear at the whip being held in her eldest brother's hand._

 _"Silence you pirate!"_

 _He shouted at her before drawing his arm back, then bringing it forward so that the straps of stripped leather from the whip tore through the back of the white summer dress Katrina was wearing and bit into the already marred flesh of the little six year old girl's back and a blood-curdling scream filled the air._

Katrina shot up from the bed she was lying in and slapped a hand over her mouth to cut off the scream that had ripped from her throat, but it did nothing to stop the sound of it from her memories. She lifted a shaking hand to her head and ran her fingers through her hair a few times in an attempt to calm herself. She stopped with a hiss when her hands hit the gauze and the tape holding it place over a spot on the back of her head. It was only then that she realized she wasn't in the same place she'd fallen asleep. Instead of lying in the lap of an orange suit wearing polar bear, she was in a queen sized bed covered in dark, satin sheets.

 _Where am I?_

Katrina wondered to herself as she looked around the room. She could see several bookshelves full of books lined up against beige colored walls of the room she was in. There was a desk littered with papers and open books over in the corner of the spacious room and there were two doors that she could see. One to the left of the bed she was currently sitting in, the other directly across from it.

Throwing the covers to the side, Katrina slowly got to her feet. She shivered at the feel of the cold metal of the floor before heading for the door across the room. She silently opened the door to an empty hallway. The brown haired girl heard voices carrying from down the hall and cautiously walked along the metal corridor with a few doors here and there leading to other parts of whatever ship she was on until she came to a room with a table big enough to fit seven people in the middle of it with people sitting around it. She recognized the guy with the penguin hat, the guy with the blue hat and red trim, and the blonde girl covered in some dark substance that looked like grease or maybe oil, as the people from earlier when she'd been in the infirmary with Law. She blinked in shock when the blonde leapt at the boy with the blue hat and forced a rather odd colored substance in his mouth and held his nose to force him to swallow whatever it was.

Everything got quiet before the guy in the blue hat suddenly keeled over and his soul floated out of his body and hovered in the air above his unconscious form.

"Shachi!"

The guy in the penguin hat shouted in alarm as he ran to the other one.

"He's just being over dramatic!"

The blonde girl shouted and crossed her arms in a pout.

 _Just where the hell am I?_

Katrina wondered with wide eyes as she watched the people in the room in front of her. She was so focused on the scene in front of her that she didn't notice when a certain furry haired polar bear picked up on her scent and looked her way before alerting his captain to her presence.

"Hello Miss Katrina, you slept well I hope."

Law said and smiled when she snapped her attention to him.


	6. Chapter 6

Law watched, rather bemused as Katrina seemed to be squirming under his gaze before she clenched a hand by her side and a certain strength entered her eyes that caught Law's attention more so than the ruckus his crew was creating at the moment.

"I slept fine hun."

Katrina replied, however the slight tremor of his voice told him she wasn't being completely honest in her answer. This caused a frown to appear on Law's face as a dark look entered his eyes. The frown was replaced with a tight-lipped smile that held no warmth for the one he was looking at. None of which went unnoticed by his crew who all stopped to watch their captain, concerned as to what he was going to do next.

"Don't lie to me _Miss_ Katrina."

Law warned in a voice that had made many a man shake with fear, but the only difference in Katrina was the slight trembling of her hands that she stopped by clenching them at her sides. It was clear to the dark doctor, that Miss Katrina was not a weak-willed individual. He didn't know much about her, technically speaking all he did know about her was her name and that she had been living at a brothel, but unbeknownst to her she was slowly gaining a bit of respect in the doctor's eyes.

"It wasn't a lie per se _Captain_ Law. Compared to other times I've tried, I did sleep fine."

She said just as seriously, meeting his gaze easily with no signs of fear or concern for her well-being. This time, Law didn't sense she had lied to him and knew if she had Bepo would have told him. That being said, the new bit of information the brunette had just provided had now piqued the surgeon of death's interest. What exactly had caused her previous attempts to be less than 'fine'? Was there an illness she was suffering from that made sleep difficult? Insomnia perhaps? She showed no outward signs of any other cause that he could see without getting her in his infirmary again, something that Law had a feeling wouldn't be an easy feat. He did notice the slight bags beneath her eyes that made her statement ring with truth, but that just made Law wonder once more what kept the brunette from her sleep.

Silence followed, but neither Law nor Katrina looked away from each other. Law to see how long until he could make her squirm as before, and Katrina because she was trying to figure Law out. Their little staring contest didn't last long though when a rather loud growl was heard throughout the room. Law blinked once in surprise before smiling as he saw a blush appear on Katrina's face. She wasn't as good at hiding behind her mask as she thought herself to be.

"Are you hungry?"

Bepo asked, coming to stand beside Katrina who opened her mouth to protest when her stomach growled again, this time earning a chuckle from Law who ignored the glare that was sent his way.

"If you're hungry, I can cook you something."

The blonde haired girl from before said, coming to stand beside Bepo. Katrina looked her over and noticed she was wearing a beige colored tank top and baggy pants. Her blonde hair was pulled up in a side ponytail and her bangs were pinned out of the way of her chocolate colored eyes. Katrina noticed what looked like grease splotches here and there on the girl and wondered where they came from.

"NO!"

Came the collective response of just about everyone in the room and Katrina blinked in shocked confusion as the blonde turned and glared at everyone before starting an argument with the boy she'd previously force-fed.

Katrina silently stared at the commotion before slipping past the people standing around the room and walked into the kitchen area of the room they were all in. There were unidentifiable substances and stains on the counters, sink, and parts of the stove that made Katrina shudder before she opened the fridge to see what there was to work with. The people in the room were too busy arguing among themselves to even notice her as she cleaned off one of the counters and set out a carton of eggs, sausage, bacon, milk, a loaf of bread, and some seasonings she'd found lying around. She could hear some of the argument going on as she cleared off the stove and put two pans on the eyes. Part of her wondered why no one was paying more attention to her, given the fact she was a stranger aboard their ship and she could be there to attempt to collect the bounty on Law's head. Despite the laid-back demeanor everyone seemed to have, Katrina's instincts told her that everyone in the room would have no problem fighting to the death to protect the fuzzy-hatted man sitting at the end of the table with a cup of coffee in his hands.

"What do you mean I'd kill her!? My food isn't that bad!"

The blonde girl shouted at the boy in the blue and red hat who had at some point regained consciousness.

"You almost killed me with that...that concoction you force-fed me earlier!"

He shouted back and Katrina had to stifle a giggle at the man's choice of words. They accurately fit the substance the blonde had fed him earlier.

"Apparently I need to try harder next time then, since this time obviously didn't do the trick!"

She shouted and Katrina chuckled silently to herself as the argument continued while she made an egg batter and soaked a few pieces of bread in it as she started cooking the rest of the eggs. She tossed the empty egg carton in a pile of garbage in the corner that she'd try to clean up later if she had time. Her inner neat-freak wouldn't let her leave it, or the kitchen for that matter, in the state it was now. It would drive her insane.

"Her cooking is a lot better than yours Shachi."

The guy in the penguin hat said to the blue and red hatted boy, earning a smile from the blonde he just defended and a scowl from the one he'd called Shachi.

"Like yours is any better Penguin! At least mine doesn't try to crawl off the plate!"

Shachi shouted at Penguin and Katrina chuckled again as she set a couple pieces of bread in a pan as she scooped the scrambled eggs out onto a plate, rinsed the pan out, put fresh grease in it and pattied out some sausage before laying it in the pan after flipping the french toast over to cook evenly on both sides.

"That was only one time! And it's better than Bepo trying to cook fish! He has to be the only one in the world who can cook fish until it looks and tastes like leather!"

Penguin shouted and Katrina saw Bepo look at Penguin with a frown before pointing in Law's direction, who had been watching the whole scene in amusement.

"Better than the time captain cooked and the food dissolved through the pan before it even reached the table."

The polar bear said in his defense before looking away and apologizing at the look his captain sent him. Then they all started shouting and arguing over each other about this one time one of them tried cooking something or that other time when they'd had to evacuate because of the fumes when another had tried to cook.

Katrina stifled her laughter as best she could as she finished cooking and cut everything off. She set everything on the clean counter and looked up to see the blonde girl trying to strangle Shachi while Penguin shouted at her to leave his friend alone. Bepo had a dark cloud hanging over his head and mumbling out repeatedly apologize and Law was in the middle of threatening to force-feed acidic insects that would slowly devour a person's insides to the next person that commented on his cooking and Katrina couldn't hold in her laughter anymore, making everyone freeze and look over at her. The looks on all of their faces was too much and Katrina had to hold her sides as she doubled over in laughter.

The Heart Pirates all fell silent at the sound of laughter and turned to see Katrina standing in the kitchen laughing as she held her sides.

"What's so funny?"

Bepo asked and they saw Katrina lift her head to look at them.

"All of you."

She said with a smile as she tried to get her laughter under control. Looks of confusion were passed around as Law looked at Katrina.

"I'm glad you find our arguments amusing Miss Katrina."

He said, and even Katrina could hear the sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Oh, I didn't mean any harm in it hun."

She said, sobering up from her laughing fit when she realized she was most likely upsetting the pirate captain sitting across the room from her. She supposed she would be upset too if someone laughed at her and her crew when they were known to be heartless criminals, despite the pirate crew's name.

"Let's eat. You're all hungry right?"

Katrina suggested, in an attempt to change the subject and get some of the attention away from herself. She missed the look that passed over Law's face at her unintended order. The members of the crew noticed the change in their captain and all took a collective step back until it finally registered with them that there was food on the counter. Actually edible food.

Katrina let out a girly squeal when the counter was suddenly swamped by pirates all trying to get something to eat without making it all fall to the floor. Katrina grabbed her food and some for Law, who hadn't moved from his seat, and eased past the other pirates fighting with one another over a piece of bacon and walked over to Law, placing the plate of food down in front of him and sitting beside him. When she noticed he wasn't eating she looked at him confused.

"Aren't you hungry? I didn't poison it."

She said before taking a bite of his eggs to prove it. When he still made no move to eat she sighed.

"Gods your stubborn, eat."

She said with a frown and in less than a second she found herself pushed back in her seat with a tanned hand around her throat and Law glaring at her.

"Don't order me around."

He said in a deathly calm voice that scared the shit out of Katrina. She noticed the others had all stopped stuffing their faces and were watching their captain to see what he'd do next.

* * *

Law had been as shocked as the rest of his crew when laughter suddenly filled the galley and was even more surprised to see it coming from Katrina. He'd forgotten she was there when arguing with his crew. Not exactly the smartest of moments in his life, but he sensed no ill-will from the brunette and had allowed himself to relax. When he heard his first mate ask what was so funny Law was less than pleased that she had found his crew's dilemma amusing and said as much, though he wasn't truly bothered by it. When she'd said to come eat, he glared at her for the order, whether intended or not. Before he could do anything, his crew ran towards the counter and attacked the food there like dying men, making Katrina squeal and earning a chuckle from him.

He watched as Katrina slowly eased past his crew as they fought among themselves for food and blinked in surprise when he saw her carrying two plates of food. She set one down in front of him before sitting beside him. He didn't touch any of it, even though it looked and smelled really tempting.

"Aren't you hungry? I didn't poison it."

She said and stole a bit of his food and ate it to prove it, but still he didn't move to eat it. He couldn't understand why she had cooked all this for his crew. He didn't know anything about her other than the fact she helped Bepo, was living in a brothel, had almost been raped by her boss, and apparently had trouble sleeping. What made her so comfortable to make breakfast aboard a notorious pirate ship and laugh without a care in the world? He was seriously contemplating forcing her back to his infirmary and running some tests to check her mental state when she spoke again.

"Gods your stubborn, eat."

She said and Law pushed her back in her seat with his hand wrapped around her neck, glaring at her before she could even blink.

"Don't order me around."

He said darkly and felt the eyes of his crew on him, but he didn't care. No one ordered him around. He was the captain, not her. He was the one to give orders and have them followed.

Law felt Katrina swallow against the hand he had around her throat and tightened his grip just slightly before pulling back, reclining back in his chair and starting to eat, ignoring the looks his crew was sending him.

* * *

Katrina rubbed her neck from where Law had grabbed her and glared at the pirate captain beside her.

Who the fuck pissed in his coffee?

She wondered before going back to her food.

The awkward silence stretched on and Katrina wondered how much longer it'd last before someone broke it. She didn't have to wait much longer.

"Where did you learn to cook?"

Penguin asked as he moved to sit beside her, Shachi sitting on her other side.

"I've traveled."

She said simply, not wishing to tell them about where she learned to cook or the past that was attached with it. She wasn't even sure how long she was welcome aboard this ship, the only one who knew that was the captain. As she finished her food and looked back towards Law, Katrina frowned to find him gone, two pieces of french toast remaining on his plate untouched.

"Captain doesn't like bread."

Shachi answered one of her unspoken questions before snagging the food for himself.

"Or being told what to do."

Penguin added before slinging his arm around Katrina's shoulders.

"I'm Penguin by the way, and the brunette beside you is Shachi."

Katrina looked at Penguin and Shachi before smiling in greeting.

"My name's Katrina."

Katrina said before turning to look at the blonde girl from earlier to see her glaring at her.

"And you are?"

Katrina asked, ignoring the girl's hateful look.

"Nikkicha, I'm the mechanic."

The blonde said and Katrina blinked in surprise, though that did explain the grease stains on her clothes. It wasn't very often you met a female aboard a pirate ship, let alone as a mechanic.

"Shachi and Penguin are the navigators."

Nikkicha continued and Katrina opened her mouth to ask about Bepo's position when the blonde spoke again.

"Stay away from Penguin, he's mine."

She warned with a hateful glare before getting to her feet, grabbing Penguin by the back of his boiler suit, and walking off, dragging Penguin behind her. Katrina blinked in surprise a couple of times before smiling. These pirates certainly were something else.


	7. Chapter 7

Katrina stayed where she was as Bepo, Shachi, and eventually Nikkicha and Penguin, who had dragged the unwilling mechanic back, ate their food. She listened to them as they told her of some of their adventures so far into the Grand Line and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't impressed. She could tell Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi all easily warmed up to her, but Nikkicha kept sending her hateful glares the entire time she and the others ate before finally being pulled out of the room by Penguin and Shachi who wanted to ask her about the engine and how much fuel they had left. This left Katrina in the galley of the Heart Pirate's ship with the first member of the crew she'd met.

"Did you enjoy the meal hun?"

She asked her furry companion as she got to her feet and gathered up the dishes. She'd cooked, so she'd clean. That, and her inner neat-freak was going crazy at the mess that these pirates called a kitchen.

"Very much so, thank you Katrina."

Bepo said as he followed her into the kitchen and watched as she cleaned the sink out and set the dirty dishes on the counter before scrapping bits of food into the trash bag and setting it to the side.

"I'm glad."

She said as she pulled a hair tie from her wrist and pulled her hair up into a high ponytail to get it out of the way as she ran some water to do dishes.

"Katrina, why are you cleaning up? You didn't make this mess."

Bepo asked as Katrina moved one stack of dishes into the water and started to clean them.

"Two reasons really hun. One, because I made a mess while cooking and two, because my inner neat-freak would drive me insane if I left this kitchen the way it is."

She said simply as she rinsed and dried the dishes she finished washing and put them away in the cupboards where she thought it'd be easier to get to.

"Do you need any help?"

Bepo asked as she started on the second stack. Katrina simply smiled and shook her head.

"No, that's quite alright. Though you could do somethin about that trash if you really wanted to help."

She said and saw Bepo walk over to the trash, pick it up off the floor and stuff it all in the bag before taking it and walking off somewhere.

Katrina had just finished putting up the last of the dishes and was wiping down the stove and counter when Bepo came back into the room and put a clean bag into the trashcan Katrina had moved to the right side of the sink.

"Wow Katrina, you're fast."

Bepo said, looking around at the now clean kitchen in awe. He couldn't remember the last time he could actually see the countertop and not smell a horrible stench from the trash.

"You can call me Kat if you want hun."

Katrina said with a smile as she dried her hands and walked over to the big polar bear and without a word, reached up and pet the top of his head.

"Thank you for the help."

She said before turning and walking down the hall towards the stairs. From the conversation with Shachi about the ship she was on, she had learned there were three levels. The bottom was mainly storage and the engine room. The second floor was the navigation room, more storage, and the crew's rooms. The top floor, which they were on now, included the galley, a small storage room, the infirmary, and Law's bedroom as well as office, which was where Katrina was headed now. She needed to talk to the Heart Pirates' captain about what happened once she passed out and say thank you for tending to her wounds when he didn't have to. After that, she wasn't really sure what she'd do, but she'd cross that bridge when she got there.

Plucking up the courage to knock on the wooden door that lead to her destination, Katrina waited until she heard the slightly muffled sound of Law's voice telling her to come in. Stepping quietly inside, the brunette took a moment to take in the room once fully inside. The first thing she noticed upon stepping inside was how dark it was. There was no other light on inside except for a lamp on the desk Law was sitting behind. It was strong enough that Katrina could look around and clearly see to the walls, but she couldn't help but wonder how Law got any kind of work done in such an environment. The large mahogany desk that sat in the back of the room was completely covered in maps, scrolls, books, loose papers full of writing, and a very tired looking Law looking over all of it. There were bookshelves along both the left and right walls that Katrina couldn't help wonder if they were bolted to the floor like things had been in the infirmary. The two portholes on either side of Law's work desk showed they were still deep underwater. The small amount of light the windows let in added a calming ambiance to the room that Katrina wouldn't have thought of. The dark red carpet laid out on the floor of the room went surprisingly well with the black leather couch she saw pushed along the far wall. There was a table set before it and she could see Law reclined back on the couch, paper in hand, still working himself to the bone. She didn't know the tanned captain, but she was pretty good at getting a good read on people after having met them. She could tell Law was a hard working man who probably neglected his own health once he got into his work.

A smile found its way across Katrina's face at the thought of the dark doctor. Usually she tried keeping her distance from people after what happened with her last crew so she wasn't very often in a situation where she found herself impressed or respecting another individual. So when Katrina found herself feeling both in regards to the tanned man sitting a few feet away from her, she couldn't help but smile slightly.

"Miss Katrina."

Law said, breaking the comfortable silence that had been in the room. She could tell from his voice that he was tired. There wasn't much to go on from the bags under his eyes since that seemed to be a constant factor in his appearance. She briefly wondered what he looked like before he had them, before her attention refocused back on the conversation upon realizing Law was speaking again.

"-form of an explanation Miss Katrina."

Resisting the urge to sigh once realizing what Law was talking about, Katrina walked further into the room until she was standing before his desk.

"I don't really have a choice do I?"

She asked, knowing even as the smirk appeared on the dark doctor's face what the answer would be.

"What do you think?"

Law asked, folding his hands in his lap and sitting back in his seat. Now realizing she had his complete attention, Katrina signed before walking past his desk, ignoring his questioning gaze, and walking to the porthole in the back wall. Gazing out at the blue-black darkness, Katrina closed her eyes as she tried steeling her nerves for the memories that were sure to focus during their conversation.

"I had a troublin' childhood and still have nightmares and certain things trigger memories."

Katrina said then stopped. Chancing a glance towards Law she could feel the frown on his face more than she could see it.

"Miss Katrina."

He said and Katrina shivered at the sound of disapproval in his voice. Apparently he didn't appreciate her trying to skirt around the gritty details of her past.

"I'm the eldest daughter in a Marine family. For generations the family occupation has been Marine. My mother and father weren't present in the lives of my brothers, sister, and I. My brothers found ways to entertain themselves while our parents were away, they loved playin' games. Their favorite being Pirates and Marines. The thing with that is, if they were the Marines then someone had to be the Pirates."

She said, digging her nails into the palm of her hands.

"My sister and I were volunteered by our brothers to play. Didn't matter what we were doin' at the time they wanted to play. We didn't get to say no."

"You mean they forced you to play a game with them?"

Law asked and Katrina could hear the unamused disappointment in his voice as he waited for an answer.

"Why do you care about this anyway? I'm not a member of your crew, so what's it to you what my deal is?"

Katrina asked, turning to look at Law. She was far from comfortable with their current topic of conversation, but she couldn't ignore the raw power exuding from the slender man sitting only a few feet from her. He had a presence that demanded attention and his aura was one that made it hard to ignore an order once spoken. Katrina didn't like that she couldn't choose whether to tell him or not. Truthfully, it wasn't a big deal if he knew or not, it's not like she kept it a secret because of shame or anything. It was just ...reliving those memories in order to tell him about her past just to satiate his curiosity. To be quite frank it pissed her off.

"Why are you so opposed?"

Law questioned back and Katrina glared at him. He was enjoying her discomfort, she could tell. Even in the dim lighting there was a bit of a sparkle to his eyes. A bit of dark mischief that almost screamed that he was amused.

"I don't know you. I don't owe you anythin'."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong Miss Katrina."

Law said and Katrina resisted the urge to take a step back as he got to his feet and closed the distance between them.

"You owe me quite a bit actually. It was me and my crew that prevented Mister Jericho from doing some rather vulgar and distasteful things to your unconscious body. Surely you don't think I did that for nothing. I didn't take you for one of such a low intelligence Miss Katrina."

He said and Katrina glared so hard at him that had looks been able to kill, Law would have been a dead man the second he had the balls to ask about her past.

"I appreciate your assistance more than you know Captain Law, however, I don't remember ever askin' you to help me."

The brunette argued and noticed with a smirk of her own that his smirk had been replaced with a frown.

"I suggest you indulge my curiosity Miss Katrina before you need yet another trip to the infirmary."

Law said calmly, but the look in his eyes told her she had gotten under his skin with her comment.

"And I suggest you remove yourself from my personal space."

Katrina said, noticing with a frown that Law had gotten uncomfortably close during their conversation. He had backed her completely up against the wall of his office and blocked her exit. If she tried moving past him he could stop her easily with just a stretch of his arm. If she reached out, she could touch the front of his hoodie. The smiling Jolly Roger seemed to mock her and Katrina just wished he could at least respect a bit of her personal space.

"As you wish."

He suddenly said and Katrina looked at his retreating figure in surprise. He silently retook his seat at his desk and went back to writing on some paper.

 _'What the...The fuck is he gettin' at?'_

Katrina wondered as she tried to understand what the hell was going on with the pirate she was currently trapped talking to.

"If I tell you can I leave?"

She asked after a few moments of silence to which Law's hand stilled and he glanced her way before returning to his work.

 _'Guess I'll take that as a yes.'_

Katrina thought to herself before resigning herself to what she needed to do to get out of here.

"My brothers took their game a little too far. They started truly believin they were Marines punishin Pirates. Nothin they did wrong was too bad so long as it was done to a Pirate. They loved torturin their captives."

She said, picking up from where she stopped. Katrina didn't miss the fact Law's hand had still once again.

"I left the island I grew up on as soon as I could. Joined a pirate crew and sprent a good number of years with them. Thought they were my family. We made it to the Archipelago and celebrated at the brothel run by Jericho. The Swift Pirates know how to rack up a tab at any bar they go to. Some time durin' the night I guess my ex Captain and crew decided to bail, leaving me as way of payment for their tab. I was essentially sold by my Captain and abandoned in the span of a single night."

Katrina said, choosing to attempt to distract her emotions by walking over to one of Law's bookshelves and skimming the spines. She knew to expect the heavy medical tomes and encyclopedias. The atlases, map reading guides, and navigation books were a bit of a surprise to her. Katrina would have thought he would leave such a thing to his crew. Apparently Law wanted to be a well-learned man. She did love a man with an actual brain.

'What the hell am I thinking?'

Katrina mentally berated herself and realized she now needed a distraction from her distraction now that it had taken such a disturbing turn. She didn't want to think of anyone that way, let alone a pirate like Law. That being said, Katrina couldn't deny that said pirate was quite attractive and under different circumstances the brunette probably wouldn't mind entertaining such ideas.

"So that is why Mister Jericho said he owned you."

Law's voice pulled Katrina from her thoughts and the brunette was starting to wonder if perhaps she needed a second opinion. A concussion would explain her runaway thoughts perfectly. Yeah, that was it. A concussion, she wasn't attracted to Law, she simply had a concussion.

"Basically. He gave me a few options upon wakin' me for an explanation I didn't have. I could pay him back by workin' as one of his girls, somethin' he seemed too keen on happenin' if you ask me. Or I could get it back any other way I could."

Katrina explained, picking up a book about heart surgeries and starting to skim through it. If she kept part of her mind distracted then she could keep her emotions in check. She was still raw about the whole being abandoned by her captain and crew thing.

"Why not seek employment? Why choose to pickpocket?"

Law asked and Katrina couldn't help but laugh at his questions.

"I told you, Jericho really wanted me to be one of his girls."

She answered as she took a seat on the leather couch before continuing her little story.

"He purposefully sabotaged any job I got. Told the people who hired me I was a thief or that I was a wanted woman. Didn't take long after for me to be let go before my first day even truly started. And before you ask, I may have been a pirate, but I refuse to be anybody's whore. So that left me with only one option. In the years since I woke up to Jericho demandin' an answer as to where my Captain was and who was goin' to pay the bill to now I've managed to cut my debt down to 285,000,000 Beli. Three years I've been trapped as Jericho's slave basically attemptin' to pay back a debt that was only partially mine for my freedom. So for that, Trafalgar Law, you have my gratitude."

Katrina said, wrapping up her explanation to his question as she placed the book she'd been looking through on the table in front of her.

Silence followed her words and not for the first time Katrina wondered just what Law could be thinking as he stared at her from behind his desk. She tried her best not to react once he finally moved and started coming towards her. Still silent, Law stopped a few inches from where she sat on his couch. Deciding it would be better if she stood, Katrina nervously shifted her weight from one leg to the other as she waited for Law to say something. Hopefully to dismiss her so she could leave his office and get off his submarine. She'd gotten the answers she needed and had properly given her thanks to the man responsible for her newly gained freedom. Now if only she had any idea what to do with it.

"How about joining my crew Miss Katrina?"

Law asked, his voice breaking the silence that had settled over them and for a moment Katrina wasn't sure she had heard him right. Though a quick glance at his face told her he was expecting an answer.

"Can I have some time to think about that? A lot has happened to me recently."

She asked, hoping to be able to stall his curiosity until she herself knew the answer to the sudden question.

"You have twenty-four hours."

Law answered before turning and walking back to his desk.

Taking that as her dismissal, Katrina showed herself out of Law's office and headed back towards the kitchen. She planned on making one last meal for Law and his crew as a thank you for what they did, but even as she prepared and cooked the meal her mind wasn't on the task at hand. Her mind was focused on the question Law had suddenly sprung on her. Did she want to be a pirate again? To get close to people again? Just what did she want to do now that she had her freedom?


	8. Chapter 8

_Kiteria: Welcome back folks. This rewrite has gotten rather interesting. It will still have some old parts, but the new parts will make it so much better! Leave a review and I hope you guys enjoy._

* * *

The late night air chilled Katrina's bare arms and legs, but she welcomed it. Shivering slightly, Katrina wrapped her arms around herself to try and fight off the biting chill of the wind, though it didn't do much good considering she was wearing a pair of thigh length shorts and a tank top. Her hair was free of the elastic she usually had it in as she sat on one of the many rooftops in Grove 23 watching as the sun was steadily moving towards the horizon. The colors of the sky were bleeding into each other in a variety of pinks, oranges, and reds. She'd spent the last four hours after leaving the Heart Pirates' submarine walking around the Archipelago. She'd collected her money and what little clothes she owned, the bags currently keeping her company as she stared out at the horizon. To think she no longer had to worry about keeping her door locked and sleep lightly. She didn't have to worry about the look Jericho gave her or the way he acted around her. She didn't have to worry about anything now except living for herself. She was free, finally free. So then why did she feel so lost?

Sighing, the young brunette looked down over the slowly waking island to see a handful of people milling about as the last few rays of sunlight washed over them and the buildings they disappeared inside. The sun was sinking beneath the horizon and the temperature was dropping, but still, Katrina didn't move. She remembered the last time she'd sat and watched the sunset. It had been the day before her and her old crew docked at the island she was on now.

* * *

 _"Gregory! Hans! John! Kat!"_

 _The captain of the Swift Pirates called and those whose names were called all turned to look at the auburn haired male dressed in a white, ironically named pirate shirt and maroon pants. A gold earring hung from his ear on the opposite side of the phoenix feather tied into his hair._

 _"Go check on Nathan and see what the hell is taking that boy so long with our food!"_

 _He called and the four went into the galley to see what was wrong only to find the crew's chef passed out with a bottle of whiskey hanging limply in his hand._

 _"Oh man, Capt'n'll flip when he finds out Nat's passed out again."_

 _Gregory said with a sigh as Hans checked the cook's vitals to make sure he was okay._

 _"Kat can cook."_

 _John said, earning a glare from the volunteered brunette._

 _"Yeah, her cooking is always better."_

 _Hans added and Kat mock glared at her crew mates before a smile broke through her mask._

 _"Fine. Just get him to bed before Captain sees him passed out."_

 _She said as she pulled the hair tie from her wrist and pulling her hair into a high ponytail. It didn't take long for her to start chopping vegetables and a delicious aroma wafted through the galley and to the deck of the ship to the other members of the Swift Pirates. Katrina could hear cheers from up top from her crew mates about her cooking. Somehow they could all tell the difference between her and Nat's cooking just by the way it smelled._

 _The Swift Pirates laughed, drank, and ate as they sailed towards their next destination. Nathan had woken up to get the scolding of a lifetime from his captain, but was forgiven because of Kat's cooking. The brunette was sitting on the mast of the ship, listening to the sounds of her crew as she watched the sun set. She couldn't believe her life had changed so much in just two years, but she would never regret taking her captain's hand and going out to see with him._

* * *

Katrina dug her nails into the skin on her arm as she felt her eyes sting. That had been the last time she'd enjoyed the company of her crew. Her family. She had no idea that her captain had planned to leave her behind at their next destination. Had she known, she never would have gotten off the ship. She would have preferred to continue living in ignorant bliss, thinking her crew was her family and that her captain actually cared for her. She should have known better. Especially with the way her captain had been acting that night.

* * *

 _Katrina walked beside her captain, his hand dwarfing her own as his fingers were laced with her own. She had joined the Swift Pirates two years ago when the captain had come to her hometown and offered her a way out of the hell that had been her life for the past seventeen years. She glanced up at the auburn haired man beside her and couldn't help the smile that worked its way onto her face. He was her captain, yes, but most importantly he was someone who cared for her. Someone who thought she mattered, someone who would miss her if she was gone._

 _"What are you smiling about little Kitty Kat?"_

 _Her captain asked with a smile of his own, green eyes shining in the moonlight._

 _"Just the next King of the Pirates."_

 _She said, her smile growing as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. She blushed slightly as he kissed the top of her head._

 _"And you'll be my Queen."_

 _He said and Katrina ignored the cat-calls from their crewmates as they walked into a brothel. She hated the women that would lower themselves to this kind of work, but admired the fact that they were comfortable with their own bodies to do what they did._

 _The Swift Pirates sat in the back of the brothel and ordered drinks. Once it was brought to them they all raised their glasses and their captain toasted._

 _"To the New World!"_

 _He called and they all chorused before draining their cups. It wasn't long until they were all laughing and cutting up amongst themselves. Katrina was happy leaning into the side of the man she loved and had the honor of calling her captain as she watched her friends enjoy themselves. This crew was more of a family than she'd ever had. Her parents had abandoned her to her brothers, the very same brothers who had made her life a living hell. Her goal, aside from making sure the auburn haired man beside her became the next Pirate King, was to find her brothers and make them pay for what they did to her._

 _"What's on your mind Kat?"_

 _Her captain's voice jolted Katrina from her thoughts and had her blue-green eyes looking up into his green ones._

 _"Just thinkin' about my past hun."_

 _She said honestly and blinked in surprise when her captain leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. When he pulled back she was blushing about as red as his hair._

 _"I'm glad I chose to come with you."_

 _She said as she looked away, missing the look that crossed her captain's face._

 _After that her captain was more withdrawn, but Katrina was too drunk to notice. Slowly, one by one, the Swift Pirates all passed out, Kat right along with them thinking they'd all wake up with a massive hangover. She had no idea that her crew was faking and as soon as she slumped down onto the table that her crew mates got up and left the brothel as their captain picked the slumbering girl up and laid her out on the floor._

 _"I'm sorry my little Kitty Kat, but I have no more need of you."_

 _The auburn haired captain said as he brushed a strand of Katrina's light brown hair away from her face._

 _"Your emotions about the past will make you weak, I have no need for weaklings on my ship, in my crew, or sharing my bed."_

 _He said before laying a note to the owner of the brothel on the sleeping girl's chest and leaving her behind._

* * *

Katrina's vision was blurry and she could feel the tears streaming down her face, but she didn't bother to wipe them away knowing more would just take their place. She had thought that was just a dream, that those words had just been from a made up voice her intoxicated mind had conjured up and that her captain hadn't really been saying them. When she first woke up she had believed it was a dream, but when she saw the note and saw her crew's ship gone she realized she'd been left behind by her family yet again.

Now, while she had her freedom, she was once again faced with choosing what to do. When her old Captain had extended the invitation to join his crew, Katrina hadn't given it a second thought. Anything was better than living on that island with her brothers for one more second. She had long ago given up the hope that their parents would come home and save her and her sister from the hands of their sadistic brothers. After what happened to Sarah she promised to make her brothers pay if she ever got the chance. So when given the chance to escape, she took it. Years of torture, to be able to live freely was almost too good to believe. She had been selfish during the four years she was with the Swift Pirates and had made no progress to bringing her brothers to justice. Perhaps that was why she was abandoned so easily by her crew.

Closing her eyes as the last of her tears fell down her face, Katrina signed as the wind picked up and blew her hair about her face. What _did_ she want?

* * *

Law frowned at the questionable substance his mechanic had prepared for their meal. He was fairly certain he'd seen it move earlier and was in no way going to eat it. How was it they had made it this far into the Grand Line without a proper cook? He had the best navigators and mechanic, he even had a member of the Mink tribe on his crew. So then how was it none of them could cook worth a damn unless their intent was to kill someone?

Law sighed to himself before telling his crew that they'd be eating out tonight which earned him relieved sighs, even from the so called 'cook'. The surgeon of death simply led the way off the sub before placing Bepo in charge of finding a place to eat. As they followed the orange clad polar bear, Law couldn't help but think back to earlier that morning when Katrina had come to talk to him in his office. He didn't understand it fully, but he was curious about the woman that had helped his furry subordinate when he'd been lost. One of the first things he had noticed about her was despite knowing exactly who he was she wasn't the least bit scared of him. She had a fire in her blue-green eyes that seemed to have been diminished. He was rather curious as to what had been done to her to cause the scars he'd seen upon Bepo bringing her to his infirmary after Law had taken care of Jericho. He had seen the scars marring her skin and could tell they were old. His medical knowledge had helped him identify the burn marks and old scars from whippings, but there were so layered that it was hard for him to tell where one scar ended and another began. Whatever had been the cause of it, it had happened for quite some time. If Law had to take a guess, he would say whatever was responsible for the scars was also responsible for the dimming of the fire he'd seen in Katrina's eyes when she'd tried defying him. Law recalled the mysterious brunette's answer to his question regarding her death hold on his first mate in her sleep. He could tell there was a type of trauma hidden behind her outward appearance and Law wanted to know what it was. He was a curious man by nature and Katrina had recently piqued his interest.

Law was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the group of marines that Penguin had bumped into making them turn their way. Nothing happened for a couple of minutes as pirates and marines looked at each other, but the peace didn't last long when one marine pulled out his gun and the others shortly followed suit.

"Split up!"

Law ordered his crew, not really in the mood to start a fight with the marines. He was hungry and right now his mind wasn't in the right place. Bepo and Law went one way with the majority of the marines chasing after them. Penguin was dragged off by Nikkicha and Shachi just ran in the direction that had the least marines. They all knew to meet up at the sub when the coast was clear.

* * *

The sound of things breaking and screams woke Katrina from her slumber. She wiped the sleep from her eyes and frowned at the fact she couldn't remember when she'd even closed her eyes. Her attention was once again drawn to the commotion happening below her. She got to her feet, stretching as she did so, and moved to stand on the edge of the rooftop to see what was going on. Her blue-green eyes widened slightly when she saw three familiar figures running away from a group of marines. She recognized the brown haired man in the blue and red hat, the man in a hat that said 'Penguin' on it with a red puffball on top, and there was no way she could miss the polar bear in an orange suit with a strange smiley on the front.

 _'They really know how to cause trouble.'_

Katrina thought to herself as she watched them all turn down a street to try to lose the marines chasing them. It worked only partially as half of the marines went the opposite direction, but the rest of them were still following and hot on their trail. Katrina laughed slightly and shook her head before jumping over the gap between the buildings and landing on the rooftop across the street before running alongside the marines from above. She could still see Bepo, Penguin, and Shachi running ahead of them. Bepo tripped and Penguin and Shachi stopped to turn back to help their friend, but stopped when the marines surrounded the polar bear. Katrina stopped and saw Bepo stand and take a stance before taking out the first couple of marines that had charged at him. She watched as the marines all charged at him and frowned when she noticed he was having trouble keeping them back. She glanced towards Penguin and Shachi to see them fighting their own battle. Katrina argued with herself about going down and helping them and just letting them handle things for themselves. She really shouldn't get any more involved with them, but at the same time she didn't want to see any of them get hurt. Especially not Bepo.

Katrina's attention was drawn back to said pirate when the polar bear let out a shout of pain. She looked to see him clutching his arm and drew her daggers from their place hidden under her shorts before jumping off the top of the building and landing without a sound in front of Bepo with her daggers held in a defensive stance, glaring hatefully at all the marines in front of her.

"Touch him, you die."

She said seriously, daring them to make the first move. She didn't have to wait long before a wave of marines all rushed at her, thinking they could overpower her with numbers and brute force. Katrina nimbly backflipped over their heads and spun down into a crouch, slicing her daggers along the marines' backs and knocking them all to the ground. The remaining marines all paused what they were doing and looked at her with wide eyes before the captain snapped at them to attack. Katrina dodged their attacks and dove in and out of the ranks, slicing any marine stupid enough to let their guard down until all the marines that had surrounded Bepo were lying on the ground either dead or bleeding from wounds she'd afflicted. She stood up straight after making sure there wasn't any marines that could hurt her or Bepo before turning to look at the injured polar bear standing in the middle of the street holding his injured arm, staring at her with wide eyes and a slack jaw.

"What? I warned them."

Katrina said with a chuckle at the polar bear's face before Penguin and Shachi came running up to their crew mate.

"Bepo are you alright!?"

Shachi asked.

"Yeah, we heard you cry out earlier. You okay?"

Penguin asked and both looked their friend over for injuries and stopped when the only one they found was the one on his arm. It wasn't until then that they looked around at all the marines on the ground.

"Woah, did you do this Bepo?"

Shachi asked as he stared at all of the marines in awe.

"No."

Bepo said softly as Penguin tended to his wound, wrapping it in bandages.

"Then who did?"

Penguin asked once he finished. Katrina saw Bepo start to open his mouth to answer when she spoke up.

"I did."

She said, causing the other two Heart Pirates turn and look at her as she stepped completely out of the shadows. Wiping the blood off her daggers before hiding them back under her shorts, missing the blushes that rose to the faces of Penguin and Shachi when she did so, Katrina glanced down at her clothes and noticed with a frown that she wouldn't be able to get the blood out.

"Why?"

Penguin asked, being the first to recover and Katrina looked up at them before shrugging.

"Did I really need a reason to help Bepo? He's adorable and I'd hate to see him seriously injured. You're not hurt too bad, right hun?"

She explained before asking Bepo if he was okay. Once she saw him nod she smiled.

"That's good."

She said before crossing her arms under her chest and looking back towards the other two Heart Pirates.

"So what'd you guys do to make the marines chase you?"

Katrina asked and the Heart Pirates looked at each other before looking back at her.

"What do you mean what did we do? We're pirates, they're marines, that's all there is to it."

Penguin said and Katrina couldn't help but smile at that.

"True. Well, try not to get into any more trouble okay? I'd hate for anythin to happen to ya'll."

She said before turning to leave when a blood-curdling scream split the air making all of them freeze. Silence followed for all of three seconds before Katrina and the others were running in the direction the scream had come from until they stopped at the mouth of an alleyway with Katrina in front. They all found themselves unable to move because of the scene laid out in front of them. Nikkicha was lying on the ground with a dirty looking Marine on top of her, her shirt torn open and the man tugging at her pants. Nikkicha let out another deafening scream, making the man hit her to shut her up and Katrina ran forward before anyone could stop her.


	9. Chapter 9

Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin all watched as Katrina suddenly bolted forward before anyone could stop her. The Heart Pirates hadn't quite realized their fellow crew mate wasn't just struggling in her fight against her opponent. Katrina dove forward, her shoulder colliding with the man on top of Nikkicha and knocking him to the ground. Penguin, having recovered from his confusion, tried helping the blonde mechanic to her feet. However, when she screamed and tried scooting away from him, Penguin became crestfallen and let his outstretched hand fall back to his side. He never thought there would be a day when Nikkicha told him to stay away from her. Penguin looked over in the direction he last remembered Katrina being only to see the young brunette embed one of her daggers into the man's abdomen before dragging the blade of her remaining dagger across the tender flesh of the man's neck, getting a spray of the man's blood all over her and yet Katrina didn't even flinch. The young pirate shivered at the sight as well as from the sound of the man choking on his own blood before silence fell over the alleyway. He had thought the brunette was nothing more than a carefree civilian who happened to be able to cook really well. Penguin had honestly thought she'd simply been caught up in the chaos that seemed to follow his captain around, but he now knew he had severely underestimated the young woman standing a few feet away with him and his comrades. If she hadn't already proven she had no ill will towards his crew he would be worried about them being tucked away in an alley far from view.

"Disgustin' fuckin' marines."

Katrina spat out venomously before wiping the blood from her daggers on the clothes of the now dead marine. It was only then that the Heart Pirates realized the man Katrina had tackled off their crew mate and killed had been a marine. The shirt to his uniform discarded on the ground by Nikkicha's feet.

"You're okay right? He didn't actually manage to…"

Katrina asked, trailing off as she slowly made her way towards the blonde. A sigh of relief escaped the brunette's lips when she saw the blonde shake her head.

"No, you tackled him off me before he could get my pants down far enough."

The mechanic answered when she finally managed to find her voice.

"I'm glad. No one should have to go through that."

Katrina said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile, speaking from recently gained experience that didn't need to be explained. Bepo had told the rest of the crew what had almost happened to Katrina back in the brothel at the hands of Jericho and that their captain had been the one to kill him.

Nikkicha stared at Katrina's offered hand for a few minutes before taking it and accepting the brunette's help in getting to her feet.

"Thanks."

She said and Katrina smiled, noticing that the girl's earlier hostility was now gone.

"Don't mention it."

Katrina told her as Penguin came up, handing Nikkicha a jacket that looked like his and Shachi's boiler suits. The brunette guessed it was a crew uniform of sorts, though now wondered why Bepo didn't wear the same colors as the others. Was it because he liked to stand out? That couldn't be right. After having met the bear herself, she knew that couldn't be the case. Perhaps it was Law then who was trying to make a statement? First mate type rights? Shaking her head and deciding it best not to try and figure out another individual's mind she didn't know, least of all someone like Trafalgar Law, Katrina watched as the blonde took the jacket with a small smile before her eyes went wide and she suddenly started freaking out. Talking so quickly it was hard to understand anything she was saying, but that only seemed to make her try that much harder to make them listen.

"What is it Nikki? Spit it out!"

Shachi said when he got fed up with their mechanic's sudden inability to speak properly.

Apparently this was what she needed to finally find her voice.

"It's captain! He was with me after Penguin and I got separated. The marines were chasing him towards Groove 1, and the marine Katrina just killed told me they planned on ambushing him near the auction house!"

Nikkichia shouted, her voice near hysterics. Silence followed her frantic words as the gathered Heart Pirates looked at one another, trying to process and decide on what their next best course of action would be.

"What are you guys doin!? Don't you want to go help your captain?"

Katrina asked, snapping them out of their hesitant states. Nikkicha, Penguin, and Shachi looked at one another for a brief moment. No words were spoken, but a silent understanding was met before they all ran out of the alleyway and started to head towards Grove 1, dodging the people milling about on the streets only one thing on their minds; getting to their captain.

Katrina growled in annoyance after having almost run into another person for about the twelfth time before she ran towards a nearby shop, being careful not to squish the flowers growing on the windowsill, jumped up onto the roof and kept running.

"Keep going! I'll take a shortcut and meet you there!"

She called down to them before taking off without waiting for their response.

* * *

Law cursed his luck as he hid in an alleyway while the marines ran past searching for him. They had somehow managed to get him from Grove 23 to Grove 2. He wasn't sure what their purpose was, but he wasn't going to stop and think on the reasonings behind marine actions, right now he had to focus on getting back to his sub and getting off this island with his crew.

Law poked his head out of the alleyway once he thought the coast was clear and checked both ways before slowly walking out into the street. He didn't even get three steps before someone called out.

"There he is!"

He looked behind him to see marines coming his way and he groaned before taking off again. He could easily fight them, had he not forgotten his nodachi aboard the sub. So, he was reduced to running away since he wasn't too pleased with the idea of hand to hand combat with so many opponents, especially since he was still starving.

The dark doctor noticed he had passed the bridge connecting Grove 2 to Grove 1 and frowned to himself. He hadn't meant to go that far into the Archipelago, but it looked like the marines weren't really giving him much of a choice.

Turning down a road, Law hoped he could slip back down a different alley when he suddenly found his path cut off by a different group of marines. The Heart Pirate captain cursed his luck once more when the marines quickly moved to surround him before he could do anything. Frowning, Law wondered if he would be better off just knocking a few of them out and returning to his sub or if he should play with them a little? They had rather rudely interrupted his visit to the island, but it was partly his fault for being who he was.

"Don't try to resist Trafalger Law, you're coming with us."

The captain of the Marines called out, stepping towards Law and the North Blue native's fingers twitched with the urge to cut into the man who dared to give him an order. The Marine captain waved his hand, giving the silent order for his men to try to get Law in Sea Prism cuffs, but Law swiftly knocked a few of them out before they could even get close enough. He boredly looked at the remaining five who paused in their pursuit of him after having seen how easily he dealt with their comrades.

"Stop standing around and get him!"

The Marine captain shouted and the Marines looked at each other before they both rushed Law at once, knowing he wouldn't be able to stop them both.

"Law, catch!"

A female voice suddenly shouted from above and both the Marine officers and Law looked up to see a brunette haired girl toss something long and black through the air towards Law. He reached up and caught it, having recognized what it was the second she threw it, the Surgeon of Death smiled before holding his empty hand out parallel to the ground and a thrumming sound soon sliced through the silence before a blue dome covered the Marines in front of him.

"Room."

Law said, voice reverberating within the dome he created, his smile turning into a smirk.

* * *

Katrina had just gotten to Grove 2 when Bepo called up to her and tossed her something. She had been confused when the polar bear had given her a sword that was way too big for her to use and was going to throw it back to him when she remembered just who the sword belonged to. Without another word she nodded her understanding to the polar bear before taking off ahead of him and the rest of the Heart Pirates that were bringing up the rear to where she knew their captain to be. She had seen the Marines move up ahead and knew without a doubt that he was there.

Katrina frowned when she ran along the rooftops and saw Law surrounded by Marines on all sides. She heard the Marine captain say something before a few Marines tried to put Law in cuffs. She laughed when she saw him knock them out without even a second thought, but stopped short when the Marine captain shouted something else and all the Marines started to charge at Law. She knew there was no way for him to be able to fight them off like he had before and jumped over to the closest building to him before calling out to him.

"Law, catch!"

She shouted before throwing the sword she'd strapped to her back to the pirate captain on the street below her. She saw him catch it and saw the smile that appeared on his face when he had his sword in hand. A shiver ran through her at the look on his face, the brunette wasn't quite sure what to make of the fact it was a pleasant shiver.

Leaning forward to see over the edge while catching her breathe, Katrina was surprised at the appearance of the blue dome that covered the area below, encasing the remaining Marines. She heard Law say something as she sat down on the edge of the rooftop she was on. Katrina couldn't help the smile that found its way onto her face as she watched the show begin.

Blue-green eyes watched in fascination with the rest of the Marines as Law's sphere engulfed a large portion of the Grove they were on, causing the Marines to pause. That was honestly where they fucked up. In a few quick, precise movements that were almost too quick for Katrina to follow, Law sliced the Marines into several different pieces without even moving from his spot.

"Shambles."

Law's voice echoed after he re-sheathed his sword, drawing Katrina's eyes back to the North Blue Native. She watched as he moved his hands in a puppetmaster-like motion and her eyes widened upon seeing different body parts belonging to the once whole Marines now floating around as if they were no heavier than a paper bag floating on the wind. As Law moved his hands, so did the body parts and Katrina realized quickly what 'Shambles' did and made a mental note to avoid getting caught in that sphere in the future.

Glancing from the screaming and panicking Marines, Katrina looked at Law's face and honestly couldn't say she was surprised to see a slight psychotic glint to his eyes. He was enjoying himself. He enjoyed playing with the Marines, that much was painfully obvious as she watched him let the blue dome fall and stood back watching as the Marines scrambled in an attempt to put themselves back together properly. The smirk on his face and amused look in his eye made Katrina almost envious of him at that moment. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been in a fight. In a good fight, one that tested her limits and made her break a sweat. The Archipelago had demanded she focus her attention elsewhere or she would have lost the thing she cherished more than her own life; her freedom.

Movement out of the corner of her eye pulled Katrina from her silent observations and mental musings. A Marine Law had robbed of his legs was crawling towards the dark doctor's exposed back. Katrina initially relaxed, certain Law was a seasoned enough pirate and more than capable of handling an already downed Marine who was just too stubborn to die. That was until the light from the steadily rising moon reflected off the blade the man was hiding in his hand. Katrina's body moved before she had even finished processing that Law hadn't noticed the man. She jumped off the roof of the building she'd been sitting on, landed in the middle of the battle field and didn't miss the way everyone stopped at her sudden appearance. She used that to her advantage and was already halfway to the Heart Pirates' Captain before her mind finally caught up with her body. She realized when a blonde haired Marine nearly took her head off that what she was doing was a stupid idea. A very stupid one, but she couldn't find it in her to stop and turn back. No, that's not right. She could stop, but the thing that kept her moving was the fact the young pirate captain had unknowingly endeared himself to her. She herself hadn't been aware of it until she looked up after pushing the now dead blonde Marine away from her to see the unseen assassin was making his move. She opened her mouth to yell for him to watch out, but it was too late. The Marine had pulled himself up enough to drive his sword through Law's stomach from the back, the blade piercing the flesh easily and emerging on the other side, making the pirate stop and stare down at the wound in shock.

"Die pirate scum!"

The Marine shouted, lifting a shaking arm to aim his gun at Law's face and moving his finger to pull the trigger, but he never got the chance. Katrina jumped over a pile of dead Marines, using their bodies as a springboard to launch herself through the air until she landed beside Law.

Grabbing the back of the once canary-yellow hoodie, Katrina yanked Law out of the way just as the gun went off. The bullet flying through the air where Law's head had been seconds before. Charging forward once she was sure Law would be okay, Katrina pulled her daggers from the sheaths on her thighs and sliced the sharpened blades through the flesh of the Marine's hands, effectively making him drop his gun as the severed hands fell to the ground at her feet. While the Marine's eyes followed his hands to the ground in terrified horror, Katrina flipped her hold on her blades before dragging them across the flesh of the Marine's arms. Blood ran down his arms in rivers from the cuts she made and at that point the Marine's fight or flight instinct must have kicked in because he suddenly attempted to scramble away from her. The lack of legs made it a rather pathetic attempt, as did the fact Katrina was now on a mission. This man wasn't getting off this Grove alive.

In just a few steps Katrina was standing before the fleeing Marine and pinned him to the ground with a knee as she knelt and mercilessly drug her blades across his throat and kicking his head in the opposite direction of his body after completely severing it. She could feel the Marine's blood spray over her body and start to trickle down her face and into other less pleasant places, but she pushed the rising rush of excitement of the fight aside as she turned her attention to a rather shocked looking Law.

"You're wounded pretty bad hun, think you'll be alright enough to help me get us out of this?"

She asked, glancing around at the remaining thirty or so Marines who warily attempted to surround them after having witnessed what just happened to their comrades.

"Only if you agree to join my crew when we do."

He said, making Katrina's eyes snap back to him. She studied him for a few minutes, wondering if the blood loss was affecting his thinking before smiling ever so slightly as she turned her attention back to the Marines.

"We'll see babe, we'll see."


End file.
